WASHINGTON, July 18 President Barack Obama's
energy and climate adviser on Thursday dismissed calls by
critics, including oil companies and some Republican lawmakers,
to repeal a federal mandate for the use of renewable fuels.

"Calls to repeal the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) are
nothing but short-sighted," said Heather Zichal, deputy
assistant to the president for energy and climate change.

Zichal spoke at an event in Washington held by the Advanced
Biofuels Association and "The Hill," a media outlet that covers
Congress and the White House.

She said the RFS, which calls for increasing amounts of
biofuels to be blended into U.S. gasoline and diesel supplies,
plays a key role in the administration's push to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions and slash oil imports.

Current policy requires refiners to buy biofuel credits,
known as RINs, from renewable fuel producers to comply with the
mandate. Prices of RINs have risen sharply this year.

"We are confident that EPA (the Environmental Protection
Agency) can implement the statute in a way that continues to
provide the benefits that Congress envisioned while addressing
challenges in the fuels marketplace," Zichal said.

Oil companies have complained about spiking RIN costs this
year, as the United States nears a point where the law will
require the use of more ethanol than can physically be blended
into the fuel supply at the mandated rate of 10 percent per
gallon of gasoline.

The CEO of oil refiner Valero told the Senate Energy
Committee earlier this week that the RFS "needs to be completely
redone." Valero is the world's largest independent oil refiner
but also owns 10 ethanol plants.

Various actions have been proposed in Congress to amend the
Renewable Fuel Standard. A House Energy and Commerce
subcommittee plans two days of hearings on the RFS next week.

OSLO, Dec 9 Colombia's peace deal with Marxist
rebels will help the country battle the cocaine trade, President
Juan Manuel Santos said on the eve of collecting a Nobel Peace
Prize that he called a "gift from heaven".